WORLD SLEEP SOCIETY LAUNCHES MENTORING PROGRAM TO TRAIN SLEEP RESEARCH LEADERS

WORLD SLEEP SOCIETY LAUNCHES MENTORING PROGRAM TO TRAIN SLEEP RESEARCH LEADERS

ROCHESTER, MN –January 18, 2019 — World Sleep Society (founded by World Association of Sleep Medicine and World Sleep Federation) has developed—and is now seeking trainee applications for—the International Sleep Research Training Program (ISRTP). The overarching goal of the program is to prepare sleep trainees from various countries throughout the world for future leadership in basic and/or clinical sleep research. Prior to ISRTP, there was no formalized process to select the best international trainees whom would optimally benefit from a 1-year comprehensive training program.

The ISRTP will provide an opportunity for such trainees, especially those in developing countries, to train at major academic institutions so they can acquire sleep research skills and observe management of patients with sleep disorders from experienced scientists and clinicians. In turn, the program will foster a cohort of future sleep research leaders who will keep the field of sleep research and medicine vibrant with their ideas, plans and goals.The trainees will be matched to sleep research mentors at host academic institutions. Each trainee must have funds to support his or her trainee year at the host institution. The program will provide trainees with travel funds to participate in two major international sleep meetings. Selection of trainees will be based on their research plans; plans to further research in their home country; English communication skills; motivation; educational level; and availability of continued mentorship in their home countries.“The ISRTP is an important step forward in the field of sleep medicine and research,” states Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD of World Sleep Society, “because it creates a formal process to ensure the field thrives and grows through hands-on education and training provided by our esteemed mentors, thus advancing sleep health worldwide, the overall mission of World Sleep Society.”

The first class of trainees will start on July 1, 2019 and end on June 30, 2020. The application deadline is March 1, 2019. To learn more, visit worldsleepsociety.org/ISRTP.

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About World Sleep Society

World Sleep Day is organized by World Sleep Society, an international association whose mission is to advance sleep health worldwide. World Sleep Society hosts a biennial scientific congress on sleep medicine aiming to globally connect sleep professionals and researchers to advance current knowledge on sleep. A job board has also been created for sleep medicine professionals on www.worldsleepsociety.org. Follow the excitement on Twitter @_WorldSleep and facebook.com/WASMF.